The Black Vault - Russia promises retaliation if weapons deployed in space

Russia promises retaliation if weapons deployed in space

MOSCOW, September 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is ready to take appropriate measures if weapons are deployed in space, the commander of the Russian Space Forces said Thursday.

"Should any country deploy weapons in space, then the laws of armed warfare are such that retaliatory weapons are certain to appear," Col. Gen. Vladimir Popovkin said.

He said Russia and China have drafted an international declaration on the non-deployment of weapons in space and sent it to the UN.

"It is necessary to establish the rules of the game in space," he said, adding that the deployment of weapons in space could have unpredictable consequences, since such weapons are "very complex systems."

"A sizable war could break out," the commander said.

He said space must not be the sphere of interests of any one country.

"We do not want to fight in space, and we do not want to call the shots there either, but we will not permit any other country to do so," he said.

Popovkin also said that Russia has an integrated missile attack warning system, covering the country's entire territory.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070927/81302492.html

Disclaimer:

This website contains copyrighted news material - the use of which has
not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We believe
that our use of such material for nonprofit educational purposes (and other
related purposes) constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as
provided for in the US Copyright Law at Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. If you
wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go
beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. If
for any reason you believe that our use of your material on this site does
not fall within the fair use guidelines, please immediately notify The Black
Vault so that we can promptly address the matter.

Sincerely,